Silence
by StarkTechGirl
Summary: After there is a lab accident, Tony is suffering it's after effects. Fortunately, the team is not going to let him go through it alone. Will he come out stronger in the end? Or give up, despite the help of his teammates? Rated T to be safe. No slash. R&R! (Warning: My first story.) Bad summary. Just read it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! It's me! Well, actually, I am new, so you don't know me. Anyways, this is my first story. Criticism is welcomed, but be gentle, k? Alright well this story sucks, but it was sitting there, taking up space, so I had to do SOMETHING with it. Enjoy! (Or don't, I can't make you...) **

**I do not own Tony Stark, or the Avengers. If I did, the sequel would have already come out, and Iron Man 3 would NOT have ended the way it did. **

**:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) **

Tony winced as he rolled over onto his side, pain exploding up and down his left side. His ears rang loudly and the smell of burnt...stuff wafted into his nosed, making him scowl in disgust. He carefully sat up, with much difficulty, looking around, wondering what the heck happened to his Lab. (The capital "L" in the "Lab" was _totally_ neccesary and on purpose. He's Tony freaking Stark for crying out loud!) His head pounded and his eyes burned, and he felt entirely way too hot for his liking. He fumbled to remember what happened as he practically crawled from behind an over-turned work table weakly. Then it clicked as he remembered EXACTLY what happened.

He had been testing out a new chemical composition for the Arc Reactor, to fix the Plasma Discharge problem, when Dummy knocked over a tool box from across the lab, heavy, metal tools crashing to the floor loudly, the sound echoing across the large, concrete-based Lab. He had jumped, and the result was him dumping the vile of god-knows-what chemical mixture onto an open computer panel, and the small power box below it. In his panic at the weird ringing sound that came from the technology below him, he fell backward into a cabinet of chemicals. Before he knew what had exactly happened, all three started smoking, and JARVIS was flashing _Warning!_ Signs and an alarm was ringing and JARVIS was saying something. Then something exploded, and every thing went black.

Now here he sat, stunned. He then checked himself over for injuries.

He had multiple still-slightly bleeding- not serious- non fatal cuts on his upper body. A few bruises were already forming. The pounding in his head and slowness and fogginess of his thoughts pointed to the probability of a slight concussion. His nose was bleeding slightly. He was sore and his right side was on fire, but the reason why evaded the genius, as there was no blood, bones, bruises, or scrapes. He shrugged it off.

But most worrying was the fact that his right ear was unresponsive. He rustled a nearby piece of half-burnt paper right next to it- nothing. And his left ear, it sounded WAY quieter than it should have. He frowned.

'_Oh well,' _He thought, _'It will probably pass soon'_

After shrugging the small problem off (however annoying it was) he rolled and tried to stand, only to have his knees collapse underneath him. Then he was falling and- _Oh hey, the floor._

He groaned, cursing under his breath. He rolled and crawled pathetically a few feet away before he was forced to stop. His chest ached, burning hot like fire. He groaned again, out of breath, and wiped to sweat off his forehead. The he flopped down onto his back. He shut his eyes to rest them for just a second, whilst deciding what he should do next. His eyes sprang open as he thought of calling for help. He had exploded the Lab. Shouldn't _someone_ have heard that? Plus, hadn't he installed a system that warned all other house-members to Lab accidents, such as this? Where was everyone?

Then he gasped in panic. Pepper was going to kill him. Bloody _kill_ him- probably with his own freaking technology. He groaned once more.

He shut his eyes again, only to jerk them open once more, jumping at a sudden racket. There was shouting, and a -banging?- sound that echoed through the once eerily-silent, smoking and sparking destruction.

He looked around for the cause, whipping his head left and right, before the action made him dizzy and he looked straight up at the ceiling, dazed. Then Bruce and Steve were above him, in his line of sight, talking quietly to him.

"Tony?! Can you hear us? Come on, speak to us? What happened?!" Steve said so quietly, Tony strained to hear him.

"Capsicle? Speak up, I can barely hear ya. God, I sound awful. " Tony croaked, hoarse, his throat burning from the effort. Bruce and Steve frowned, sharing a look.

"Tony? Steve was talking rather loudly...Did you hit your head? Do you have blurring vision? Here, let me check you over, okay?" Bruce said, even quieter than Steve this time. Tony rolled his eyes. This was not the time to get him back for all the jokes he pulled in graver situations, it was the time to speak up so he could fricken hear them!

"Still whispering! God, what is it with you people? Speak. Up!" He answered, louder, irritated. Bruce's face grew even more concerned, if that was possible.

"Tony? We are speaking up. Please tell me you're not joking. " Then he caught sight of Tony's stoic and completely serious, paler-than-usual face. "Oh my god, your not joking. Can you her this? And this? What about this? Come on Tony, tell me every thing. Talk. And don't you dare leave anything out! " Bruce pleaded with a half-hearted glare, while making several, differently pitched noises with random things around him on the floor while Tony responded to each differently. Steve looked confused.

"Well, I feel like crap. Starting from the top and going down, my head is throbbing, my eyes kinda ache, my throat is all scratchy, my nose is bleeding, and it's kinda hard to breathe. My ears are making this loud ringing sound and everything sounds weird, like foggy kinda, and earlier I tried to get my right ear to respond, but it didn't, but I am sure it will pass. Everything is sore, and my chest aches. The Arc Reactor flickered a but when I first woke up, and my pulse is a bit rapid. I'm a little nauseous and my left ankle up to my knee has a sharp pain in it. " he finished.

Bruce sighed.  
"That's actually a short list for the look of the Lab down here. But I'm going to have to check you over my self. Just hang on, okay? This might hurt a bit-" He stated apologetically. Then he began his check-over.

He shined a light in his eyes, revealing that Tony did indeed have a concussion. There was a still-bleeding gnash on his forehead that would most likely require stitches but the bleeding in his nose had stopped, or at least slowed considerably. He pressed down on his ribcage gently but firmly, which caused Tony to hiss loudly in pain. He had two broken ribs, but neither had pierced a lung, yet, fortunately. He had severe bruising all over, but no apparent internal bleeding. He had broken his left leg in three different places, twice on his lower leg (calf) and his ankle. He finished his thorough look-over relatively fast. Steve just sat silently the whole time, a silent supporter. He was concerned, confused, and lost. He was never the best when it came to the medical field. That was Bruce's job. He was the sorta unofficial official doctor of the Avengers team.

Bruce sighed again.  
"Alright. I'm going to have to set your leg now, or else it will grow crooked and there will be later problems. Tony, I'm so sorry. "

Tony half-heartedly fake-smiled. "S'ok. Just do it. "

Bruce winced before turning to Steve.  
"Alright, I need you to brace him, sorta hold him down. He might flinch or something while I do this. It's gonna hurt-a lot. And get him to bite down on this. " Bruce whispered to him, tearing off a piece of fabric form his shirt, folding it up and supplying it to Steve. Steve sat near his head, and put the cloth near his mouth, knowing full-well what was about to happen. He had seen it a few times on the battlefield, "_back in his day"._

"Here, Tony, bite down on this. Your going to need it. " He said gently, yet louder than normal. Tony accepted it with a pale face, feat evident in his eyes, facade gone. Bruce bent over him, and nodded to Steve, and with a few sickening cracks and loud yelps and whimpers from Tony, it was done. Steve took the cloth from an even-paler and panting Tony, tossing it to the debris covered floor. Then Clint ran down the stairs and hopped through the broken glass walls. He made his way over to them quickly, scanning the situation for a few seconds silently. Then he turned back to them.

"I called SHEILD and the medics should be here any minute now and-" He was interrupted by the stomping of give pairs of boots as SHEILD issued medics hustled down the stairs and into the lab, hoisting Tony onto the stretcher gently yet quickly. Then Bruce was following them as they rushed away, supplying them with everything he knew on his friend's current condition, and Steve and Clint were left alone in the sparking, smoking lab while DUM-E made use of the fire extinguisher in the corner, happily beeping. Steve sighed.

Just another day in the Avengers Tower.

**-  
Ok, that ****sucked****. Oh well. I plan to update soon, but school is killing me with homework and I have drama and band and such. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Sorry if they seemed OOC. I tried.**

**Will Tony be okay? Where are the other Avengers + Pepper? What will happen next? Tune in next time to find out. P.S.- If I don't update for a while, it's most likely not because I'm dead. I am probably just busy, or lazy, or busy to the point of death, or having writers block. Lets hope I can actually update soon, hmm?**

**Again, flames are welcome! (But not ****_too_**** hot!) And it would make me ****_SO_**** happy if you clicked that little button down there and reviewed! Please? ****_* adorable puppy dog face*_**

**Bye! See ya next time!**

**-****_StarkTechGirl_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alrighty- this is my update! Feel lucky, I have had no time on my hands lately. And by the way, thanks for the review! And to all y'all that favorited or followed! Y'all are AWSOME!**

**Alright hope you enjoy this horrible work of literary art.**

**I do not own the Avengers. Marvel owners refuse to hand over the Ironman hottie. But mark my words, I will have him! ...someday. Maybe.**

Tony woke up in a bed that was not his. He could tell this because the sheets were scratchy- poor quality. The mattress was likely the same, he could practically _feel_ the springs below him, even though he was lying still. A thin blanket covered him form his chest down. He was appalled. Who _dared_ lay _Tony Stark_ on a poor-quality bed? He would-

"Tony?"

He stopped ranting to himself in his mind. He tried to open his eyes but they were as heavy as lead. The voice continued on.

"Are you awake?" The voice said. Whoever it was, they sounded familiar. A moment of silence followed as Tony tried to say yes. He failed.

"I guess not. They said you might be able to hear me. I thought maybe after a week you would be up...Tony we need you. Clint won't come out of the vents, Bruce is working himself half to death in the lab, Thor won't eat more than five Poptarts at breakfast, and Natasha won't leave the shooting range. Pepper is worried sick, but she is stuck in Japan or somewhere due to some freak blizzard or something. Please Tony. " Steve pleaded. That's who it was.

"If you can hear me, give me some sign. If you can. Tony please. Anything at all."

Tony focused all his energy and-

His finger twitched.

"Tony! Can you do that again?"  
He focused again and he did it. His finger twitched again.

"I'll go get the others!" Steve exclaimed as he ran out of the room- or so Tony guessed from the heavy footsteps that faded quickly.

Soon the whole team was assembled in the-room?- where Tony was. They pleaded him to try to move this, do that. Finally, Tony opened his eyes.

He blinked, the sharp, bright lights assaulting him painfully. Soon his eyes adjusted, though, and he looked around at his teammates in the small SHIELD hospital room. (Which explained the poor-quality of the bed.) The team looked tired and worn, but alright in general. Everything was extremely muted, muffled almost. They explained, with some difficulty, that the Lab had been damaged, but that was all. No other floors had been affected. He had passed out shortly after the SHIELD medics loaded him into a quinjet, and had been out for a week and a few days, give or take. He was shocked. A little while after his eyes opened, a doctor knocked and entered the room.

"Hello, I am Tony's doctor, ." He shook everyone's hand, minus Steve, who had already met him. "Now, it seems Tony was brought in with many lacerations and minor burns all over his body, a mild concussion, a few broken ribs, a sprained wrist, a severely broken leg, and received over 55 stitches. He was mildly dehighdrated. His leg should make a full recovery, as long as he follows all instructions given by the medical staff. Now what is most worrying is the damage to his ears, or specifically, eardrums, from the blast." Dr. Charleston stepped up to the bed, assessing his patient, adjusting the IV and such as needed. He shined a light in his eyes and ears.

"Will he be able to hear normally again?" Asked Clint.

"We don't know as of this point. We will need to give it some time, run a few tests. But I can assure you, we will do all we can to help Tony. " said carefully.

They all sighed. It was a long road ahead of Tony, and them, for recovery.

Alright! Hope y'all enjoyed! Sorry if I messed anything up, or misspelled, or whatnot. I do not claim to be a professional writer, literary professor, or doctor of any kind. And sorry it was so short! I'm only 13 people!

Anyway, review! Please! I give virtually cookies to those who do!  
(::) (::) (::)

And tomorrow is Friday the 13th! Happy early 13th! :)

-  
If Wille Coyote had enough money for all that Acme stuff, why didn't he just go out and but dinner?  
-

-StarkTechGirl


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